Easy Homemade Pizza Rolls Recipe

Welcome this easy homemade pizza rolls recipe – made the cinnamon roll style! Perfect back to school lunch, easy snack to bring to hikes, picnics, or the office. Filled with a scrumptious pizza sauce, ham and cheese, this little gem should definitely go on the rotation.

I can assure you that you’re making everyone at the office or the other hikers super jealous when you’re able to eat pizza for lunch! No more boring desktop lunches.

Research (aka a quick Google search) showed me that pizza rolls mean different things to different people. And to many, it means these fried egg roll type rolls, deep fried with pizza filling, like in this recipe. Also known as Totino’s Pizza Rolls.

However, I’m serving them cinnamon roll style using a basic pizza dough recipe. That is what I grew up with here in Norway, known as pizzasnurrer, which literally just means pizza rolls.

How to Make Pizza Dough

You can use whatever pizza dough you like, you can by all means also use this whole wheat bread dough and just roll it out like a pizza after the proofing (first rise). That way it gets healthier and more filling, but lacking that classic pizza crust.

Pizza dough is so easy to make yourself you really shouldn’t use store bought. However, sometimes time just doesn’t cut it, and that calls for desperate measure. But here I’ll share with you my basic pizza dough recipe.

Pour the dry instant yeast into a bowl of slightly warm water (105F/40C). Mix before adding in oil, flour and salt. Knead using a handheld mixer or stand mixer for around 5 minutes, or until it’s done.

How to Know When the Dough is Done

What to look for is a dough that is not sticky but has a smoothness to it and super stretchy. It shouldn’t stick the walls of the bowl too easily. Cover it and let it rest for 20 minutes. After this you should place it on the counter and knead 20 times by hand. Fold it over itself and press down with the heel of your hand 20 times. To get into more detail about pizza doughs, go ahead and read this article.

Now it’s time to proof (rise) the dough, place it in a large bowl and cover. Let it proof until it has doubled or tripled in size, approximately 1 to 1.5 hours (1).

Lightly flour a work surface, and cut the dough into two. Take one half and make a large ball. Roll it out to 12×20 inches (30x50cm) (2-3). Rolling pin is the easiest, but you may also just use your hands (extra rustic, I love that). You can also make it a little smaller rectangle and you’ll get more dough aka bigger buns for each of the pizza rolls. Continue with the other half of the dough.

The Best Ever Spicy Pizza Sauce Recipe

So I was originally planning to share this as a single recipe, so you get a preview here. I just can’t wait anymore, you need this pizza sauce in your life! Of course, feel free to use whatever pizza sauce you have on hand, want to make or have in the freezer. This pizza sauce is also great to freeze, just thaw it in the fridge overnight or a few hours on the counter and you’re ready to go.

All you do is mix the ingredient together in a medium bowl. Give it a taste and season accordingly. I highly recommend adding the sun-dried tomato pesto as stated in the ingredients, it adds a whole new awesome to the sauce.

Hold back on the salt if your toppings are really salty, such as prosciutto or bacon. It is delicious like it is combined with the ham and cheese in this homemade pizza rolls recipe.

If you want to dip the pizza rolls into more sauce when they are ready, then I would definitely make a double batch, as this is just enough for this amount of pizza dough.

We’re all going back to our routines, whether it’s school or work, but I don’t want you to get stuck in a office lunch rut. I’m here to help you to avoid that. You can thank me later.

How to Make This Homemade Pizza Rolls Recipe

You have made and rolled out your pizza dough and the pizza sauce is ready. If not, read the above paragraphs again. Add half of the pizza sauce to the one pizza dough. Leave room around the edges, 1 inch (2.25cm). Spread it out evenly (4).

Cover with half of the chopped ham, shredded cheese, Italian seasoning and fresh basil (5). If you don’t have or don’t want to make Italian seasoning (it is super easy though!), you can just use oregano, although I wouldn’t use more than half a tbsp on each dough.

Take the dough edge farthest away from you and roll towards you, trying your best to keep the fillings inside (6). It can be a messy project, but anyway you do it, it will taste amazing. You should now have a tube of filling, cut it into 1 inch thick rolls (7).

Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. I usually have 9 homemade pizza rolls on each sheet, but 12 could also go. Cover and let them rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 450F (225C). Brush with milk or a beaten egg and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Let them cool on a wire rack.

Storage Tips for Homemade Pizza Rolls

Once they are completely cold, you can add them to plastic bags and freeze. I prefer to freeze most and just have the amount I need for the day and the next on the counter (also in plastic bags). When you’re ready to eat the frozen homemade pizza rolls, you take them out of the freezer and place them in an oven pre-heated to about 300F (150C) or less. It takes around 10 minutes, but you should occasionally check them to see if they’re heated through. Enjoy!

When bringing them to hikes, school and work, there’s no need to re-heat them in the oven. Simply take them out of the freezer and bring with you! In a few hours they are ready to be eaten.

Pizza Roll Filling

Instructions

Pizza Dough

Make the dough: Pour the dry instant yeast into a bowl of slightly warm water (105F/40C). Mix before adding in oil, flour and salt. Knead using a handheld mixer or stand mixer for around 5 minutes, or until it’s done.***

Rest and knead: Cover it and let it rest for 20 minutes. After this you should place it on the counter and knead 20 times by hand. Fold it over itself and press down with the heel of your hand 20 times.

Proof: Place the dough in a large bowl and cover. Let it proof (rise) until it has doubled or tripled in size, approximately 1 to 1.5 hours

Roll it out: Lightly flour a work surface, and cut the dough into two. Take one half and make a large ball. Roll it out to 12×20 inches (30x50cm). You can also make it a little smaller rectangle and you’ll get more dough aka bigger buns for each of the pizza rolls. Do the same with the next half.

Pizza Sauce

Mix and taste: All you do is mix the ingredient together in a medium bowl. Give it a taste and season accordingly. I highly recommend adding the sun-dried tomato pesto as stated in the ingredients, it adds a whole new awesome to the sauce.

Homemade Pizza Rolls

Sauce the dough: Pizza dough is rolled out and pizza sauce is ready. Add half of the pizza sauce to the one pizza dough. Leave room around the edges, 1 inch (2.25cm). Spread it out evenly.

All the toppings: Cover with half of the chopped ham, shredded cheese, Italian seasoning (or oregano) and fresh basil.

Roll and slice: Take the dough edge farthest away from you and roll towards you, trying your best to keep the fillings inside. It can be a messy project, but anyway you do it, it will taste amazing. You should now have a tube of filling, cut it into 1 inch thick rolls.

Bake and cool: Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. I usually have 9 homemade pizza rolls on each sheet. Cover and let them rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 450F (225C). Brush with milk or a beaten egg and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Let them cool on a wire rack.

My son loves Pizza and many a times want it for lunch box. I too make mini pizzas and keep them in the feezer. I like your recipe and idea of making them into rolls and cutting them into bite size peices,just use the amount required. Wonderful idea.

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Welcome!

My name is Stine Mari and I am the ginger with a touch of spice, and I love ginger and spicy food. However, you will find all sorts of dishes here – from healthy to comfort, from sweet to spicy and everything in between. Click here to read more!